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December 25, 2025 — A new batch of SEC filings is offering a clearer look at how professional money managers are positioning around Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) going into 2026. Several firms disclosed new stakes or sizeable increases in Meta during the third quarter, while other investors trimmed exposure—a split-screen picture that comes as Meta faces a new wave of European regulatory pressure tied to WhatsApp and rival AI chatbots, and as Wall Street debates whether Meta’s AI spending surge will translate into durable returns. [1]
Below is what’s new on Dec. 25, 2025, and why these filings matter for anyone tracking META stock, institutional ownership trends, and the next phase of Meta’s AI and WhatsApp strategy.
A trio of disclosures published this week highlighted meaningful buying activity in Meta during Q3 2025—particularly among advisory and investment management firms that tend to build positions gradually rather than trade in and out.
One of the standout filings shows Sound Income Strategies LLC initiating a position in Meta. The firm reported buying 16,972 shares, valued at roughly $12.45 million (as reported in its filing coverage). [2]
A new position of this size often signals that a fund sees a favorable long-term setup—whether tied to earnings durability, AI-driven ad efficiency, or expectations for expanding monetization on platforms like WhatsApp.
Another filing shows FLPutnam Investment Management Co. increasing its stake by 73.6% during the third quarter, ending the period with 88,880 shares valued at approximately $65.27 million. The filing also indicated Meta represented about 1.0% of the firm’s portfolio and ranked among its larger holdings. [3]
That jump stands out because it reflects more than incremental rebalancing—at least based on the reported quarter-over-quarter change.
Red Door Wealth Management LLC reported increasing its Meta position by 26.9%, bringing holdings to 10,977 shares worth about $8.06 million at the end of the quarter. [4]
These three filings, taken together, show that—at least for some managers—Meta remained compelling enough in Q3 to justify new exposure or significantly larger allocations.
Today’s (Dec. 25) filings coverage added more color: some firms continued to add, while others reduced exposure—illustrating how divided investors can be on the near-term balance between Meta’s earnings power and its rising AI investment bill.
Brighton Jones LLC reported lifting its holdings by 3.0%, buying 1,153 additional shares and ending the quarter with 39,940 shares valued around $29.33 million. [5]
This is the profile of a “steady add”—the kind of move you often see when a manager maintains conviction but still manages position sizing and concentration risk.
On the other side, Clarius Group LLC reported reducing its Meta stake by 24.0%, selling 3,978 shares and ending with 12,567 shares valued at about $9.23 million. [6]
Beech Hill Advisors Inc. also disclosed a significant reduction—down 26.3%, after selling 3,154 shares to hold 8,830 shares worth roughly $6.49 million (as reported). [7]
What this mix suggests: even among professional investors, Meta is increasingly treated as a stock with two competing narratives:
These filings are useful—but easy to misread.
What they show:
What they don’t show:
In other words, a filing can confirm that institutional money was leaning in—or backing away—during Q3, but it’s not a real-time trading signal.
The steady stream of institutional activity makes sense when you look at the scale of Meta’s operating machine—and the levers it can pull.
In its Q3 2025 results, Meta reported:
Those operating metrics are a core reason many long-only managers remain attracted to Meta: the business is still demonstrating scale-driven growth in the advertising engine, even as it invests aggressively in AI infrastructure.
Meta also disclosed that its Q3 2025 income taxes included a one-time, non-cash charge of $15.93 billion, and that excluding that item, diluted EPS would have been $7.25 (versus the reported $1.05). [10]
This distinction matters because many market participants focus on normalized earnings power when they evaluate mega-cap tech.
Meta’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable Dec. 23, 2025 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 15, 2025. [11]
For institutions that blend growth and capital return strategies, this is part of what helps Meta sit in both “AI growth” and “shareholder return” buckets at once.
While filings spotlight investor positioning, today’s broader Meta conversation is being shaped by European regulatory scrutiny centered on WhatsApp and how AI chatbots can (or can’t) operate on the platform.
Italy’s antitrust authority ordered Meta to suspend certain WhatsApp contractual terms that regulators suspect could restrict rival AI chatbot providers—a move framed as potentially limiting competition and consumer choice. Meta criticized the decision and said it would appeal. [12]
Reporting tied to the case indicates the issue is closely connected to how WhatsApp’s business API could be used by third-party AI assistants—and whether Meta can limit those integrations while continuing to expand its own AI capabilities inside WhatsApp. [13]
A key point for investors: WhatsApp is widely viewed as one of Meta’s most important long-term monetization opportunities. Regulatory limits that affect how WhatsApp can be used—especially by businesses building AI-driven customer support—could influence Meta’s roadmap and competitive positioning.
Meta’s bulls and bears increasingly agree on one thing: AI infrastructure spending is the swing factor for how the next chapter is priced.
A MarketWatch analysis this week described 2025 as an AI spending heavy year for Meta, pointing to large-scale investment and growing investor sensitivity to how fast costs are rising relative to revenue—especially as depreciation from data center buildouts accumulates. [14]
Meanwhile, Baird’s Colin Sebastian has remained constructive but acknowledged bruised sentiment, reiterating an outperform rating while trimming a price target slightly (coverage of the note has been widely circulated across financial media). [15]
Why this matters alongside 13F activity:
Institutional investors don’t just buy “the story”—they buy the path. For Meta, the path investors want clarity on in 2026 looks like this:
With U.S. markets closed for Christmas, the next actionable developments for META watchers aren’t about daily price action—they’re about catalysts and clarity:
Bottom line: On Dec. 25, 2025, the Meta narrative is being shaped by two forces at once: institutional investors actively adjusting exposure (as shown in multiple new 13F-related reports) and regulatory scrutiny that could affect WhatsApp’s AI ecosystem. Whether Meta is treated as a “buy-the-dip AI platform” or a “wait-for-visibility spending story” in early 2026 may depend less on headline revenue growth—and more on how convincingly the company can defend product strategy, manage AI investment intensity, and navigate Europe’s competition rules. [22]
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